The Lost Children
by nikitonium
Summary: During Voldemort's reign of power, countless records of muggle-born witches and wizards were burnt. In the aftermath of the Battle at Hogwarts, the Ministry launched the Lost Children Project to hunt down muggle-born witches and wizards and invite them to study night school magic at Hogwarts. But will the students play nicely? Or will this be another harrowing year?
1. Chapter 1: The Decision

**The Decision**

Rubina read the letter again. She was just sitting on her kitchen counter waiting for the kettle to boil when a large brown owl swooped through her window (which made Rubina shriek) and dropped a wax-sealed letter into her lap. The owl gave a light hoot and left just as swiftly as it came.

The envelope was addressed to:

Ms. Rubina Naik  
Sitting atop the kitchen counter  
315 Brockley Road, Abbey Woods  
London SE4 2QZ

The back of the envelope had a crest with four animals (a lion, a snake, a bird, and ... it looked like a ferret but that was probably wrong) and ribbon below reading _Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus_. Whatever that meant.

 _…During the period roughly between 1970 and 1995, countless records of muggle-born witches and wizards have been destroyed by the vanquished Dark Lord Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters. In the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts it has taken years of work to track down the witches and wizards who were erased from our records and never afforded a chance to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You, Ms. Naik, are a find from the Ministry of Magic's Lost Children project and we would like to extend an offer to begin classes this fall semester._

 _Typically our students attend school throughout the ages of 11 to 17, but special arrangements have been made for our Lost Children. We have accommodated space for your boarding and extended teaching hours. Night classes are available on campus for students over the age of 17_ _…_

The letter was long and detailed, explaining briefly the history of Lord Voldemort and his campaign against muggles (and the fact that "muggle" is their word for non-magical people). From the looks of it, these "Hogwarts" people are offering her some sort of magical GED program because some evil wizard Nazi wanted magic to stay among purely magical families. It was certainly a colourful story, and she didn't quite _disbelieve_ it.

Rubina had remembered a few incidents where she just couldn't explain how she was able to do something. When she was six, she remembered playing in the back yard. They had a huge tree that Rubina loved to climb and swing from the branches. Her mother kept an eye on her from the kitchen window while she rolled out her chapatis. When young Rubina fell from a high branch she let out a shrill scream as she watched the ground get closer, until she slowed just inches above the roots and dropped with a light _thunk_. Her mother never mentioned the pause before the drop, she just ran outside and scooped the crying Rubina up in her arms. She said it was a miracle that Rubina wasn't hurt. Rubina assumed she missed the whole spectacle and never mentioned it again.

 _The train departs from King's Cross at 11am sharp on September the 1st. Please find your ticket enclosed._

She poked inside the envelope to see a shiny train ticket.

Hogwarts Express  
Departing 11AM, September 1st  
Platform 9¾, King's Cross Station, London

The following is a list of items you will be needing during your stay at Hogwarts. You will be able to purchase all of these in Diagon Alley, London. Though due to the security keeping Diagon Alley difficult to find, we have arranged tour dates for new students to find the Alley with ease and to meet one another before the start of term.

Rubina looked over the list of magical tools, books, and garments. She tried to imagine herself with a wand, spinning it about singing "abra kadabra!" or hunched over a cauldron like the witches on television but it just seemed too silly.

So why wasn't the letter in the trash?

She quietly debated herself over the existence of magic. The starry-eyed fantasy junkie in her was sure this had something to do with the tree incident, but the rational adult was saying none of this was real. But something about it felt plausible, as if she could will magic into existence if she just played along. She could probably throw out the letter as well and it could just as easily not be real. But as she took the whistling kettle off the stove, she began to think about her life.

She was 24 and living alone in East London. She could make rent well enough but she led a penny-pinching way of life. She had an okay job as a secretary at a small office; a job she would have to quit in order to pursue this... _education_. (It seemed less fake to call it an education rather than wizarding school). It wasn't a job that she particularly loved, but it was a lifeline to the real world. Quitting a job for something made that something seem so grand and important. But ultimately, she decided that there are other jobs and she wouldn't miss the monotony, shitty coffee, or dress pants.

She picked up her phone and scrolled through her frequent contacts. She swiped across the name Sunny Mae and waited for her best friend to pick up.

"Hello?" Sunny's voice was light and sweet.  
"Hey, Sunny it's Ruby, I have a thing happening and I need your help."  
"A thing?"  
"Yeah, a weird thing, but I gotta show you in person."  
"Ok, I'm just leaving the library. You want kimchi?"  
"Have I ever said no to that?"  
Sunny let out a laugh that sounded like bells. "Yeah, fair enough. Ok, half an hour?"  
"Sounds good. See ya then."  
"See y-" Sunny suddenly began yelling in Korean to what Ruby assumed was probably a discourteous driver. She hit the call end button.

Half an hour and one cup of tea later, Ruby's phone buzzed. I'm here, said the text message. Ruby went down the stairs and opened the door to the lobby then the front door (the lobby was a tiny "room" with three doors: the front door, Ruby's door, and her downstairs neighbour's door). A petite Asian girl stood on the welcome mat carrying an overfilled backpack and holding a white plastic bag that definitely had kimchi in it. Sunny — which is the Anglicized version of her Korean name Sun-Hee — was a grad student at the University of Greenwich studying for her MSc in Environmental Sciences. Ruby (and her parents) were a little jealous of Sunny's academic success but Ruby knew with one look of the school books and the bags under Sunny's eyes that she definitely didn't want to be getting a Masters in anything. Her communications degree was good enough.

"Hey!" Ruby said when she swung the door open. "You gotta see this letter I got." Sunny gave a quizzical look and followed her upstairs, locking both doors behind her.  
"So this came through my window today," Ruby said handing the thick envelope and letter to her friend.  
"Through your window...?" Sunny asked. She placed her backpack on the floor with a dense _thud_ and made herself comfortable in Ruby's kitchen.  
"Yeah. Not through regular post, through the window. _With an owl._ " Sunny examined the envelope.  
"Were you on top the count-"  
"Yup."  
" _Interesting._ " Sunny read through the letter. She gave no sign of scoffing or disbelief. Ruby loved that about Sunny. She never judged her even when she thought she was being really crazy. Nothing was outrageous, only interesting.

Sunny was silent for a few minutes after reading the letter. Ruby let her sort out her thoughts while she stuffed her face with spicy vegetables and rice.

"So are you gonna go to a tour date?" Sunny finally asked.  
"Been thinking about it," Ruby replied. "I thought if it were a prank, all of this would just amount to a wasted Saturday. The meet-up locations are all in public spaces so I doubt I'll get mugged. Or murdered."  
"Hm," Sunny said. There was another few minutes of silence.  
"Hey do you remember when we were kids and I fell out of that tree?" Ruby asked suddenly. Sunny thought back.  
"You mean when you didn't break your arm?"  
"Yeah, do you remember what I told you?"  
"That you just stopped yourself," Sunny said matter-of-factly. Ruby nodded. Sunny continued, "There was also that time you sneezed confetti. I mean, everyone at the party thought you just sneezed on confetti but I saw it, you weren't by confetti and it came out of your nose." Ruby was internally extremely relieved that Sunny had thought of the same instances she did. Those little unexplained mysteries that happened to her, and just her.  
"I don't know how that happened, and I think following this letter might lead to answers."  
"I don't think it will hurt just to go to this Alley, nobody's going to make you quit at Rez or to buy all these school supplies."  
"So you think I should give it a shot?"  
"I think you should go see if this is real life..." Sunny turned dramatically towards her friend, "or is this just fantasy..."  
" _Caught in a landslide..._ " Ruby joined in.  
"No escape from reality..." they sang in unison.  
Ruby didn't need to say it out loud, but she felt in her gut that she'd made a decision. She may not end up going to Hogwarts, and she may not be ready to believe in magic, but she was going to try. Try to be open, try to believe. And try not to get murdered. But for now she was head-banging through a killer duet of Bohemian Rhapsody.


	2. Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

**Diagon Alley**

The earliest tour date Ruby could attend fell on the following Saturday. She had most of the week to mentally go over what had happened, and talking to Sunny about it all kept her feeling sane. The letter had requested that she come alone because a smaller group will stay inconspicuous. The prospect of meeting other "Lost Children" gave her butterflies. Would they be her age? Older? Younger? Would they be crazy? Would anyone else show up at all? She wanted to feel confident, so she wore a pair of distressed black skinnies, a flowy floral top, and a comfortable pair of flats (to easily run the hell away if things got too weird). She pulled her long ink-black hair into a high ponytail. This was a good look; it said trendy, comfortable, and probably not a lunatic.

Her tour was meeting outside the Herringbone Pub in central London at 10:30am. The pub was closed, but it looked like a crowd of friends waiting for the doors to open at 11am for an early lunch. There were three people already standing there. Ruby mentally went over how she'd greet them as she walked towards them. One of them caught her eye and she didn't know what to do. She smiled slightly. They all looked at her as she stopped in front of the pub.

"Er- hi," she said. "Is this the tour?" she asked, hoping she wouldn't have to be more specific. The woman who'd caught her eye replied:  
"Yes, you've come to the right place." Her voice was soft and airy, like a fairy. (Ruby wondered if fairies were also real, and if they indeed sounded like this woman.) "I'm Luna Lovegood, I'll be introducing you to Diagon Alley."  
"Oh, I'm Ruby. Ruby Naik." She immediately wondered if she should have used a fake name. "Luna Lovegood" sounded a little fake. And she looked a little off her rocker. She had long blond hair braided down her back and was wearing an oversized woolen sweater with glittery leggings and pink Chuck Taylor sneakers. Ruby didn't want to stare too intently but she was pretty sure Luna was wearing tiny radish earrings.  
"I'm glad you came, Ruby."  
"I'm Vincent," said one of the other people in the group, holding out his hand. Ruby shook it. He was tall and normal-looking. He looked of east Asian descent with thick black hair and pronounced cheekbones. He was wearing khakis and a purple button-up shirt. Probably not a lunatic.  
"Nice to meet you."  
"And this is Eloise," he motioned to the tall willowy woman next to him. She was pale with a thin long nose, slightly prodruding eyes, and had brown frizzy hair down to her waist."We only just got here a few minutes ago." Eloise smiled and shook Ruby's hand, though Ruby felt like she was moving Eloise's cold limp hand up and down.

They were joined by two others at 10:25am: a sharply-dressed black man named Stanford (he apologized for being late despite not actually being late), and teeny energetic woman called Tish who had a bright pink pixie cut with aqua highlights.

"Alright," Luna said at 10:30am. "It seems like this is our group. Shall we get going?"

Luna led them to an alley which made Ruby's brain think "She could probably kill us all in there," but her legs kept following. Luna just seemed trustworthy and this time Ruby was going to trust her intuition.

Ruby walked alongside Tish, who only came up to her shoulders if you include the extra height of her spiked hair. They were walking further into the alley until they weren't walking anymore. Luna was looking at the bricks lining alley's dead end. She reached into her purse and pulled out a chestnut-colored wand, delicately carved into what looked like a skinny tulip at the end. She tapped the wand to a series of bricks and stood back. Everyone was watching in confusion and wonderment. What was about to happen?

It started with a low rumble, then the bricks began to vibrate. Dust flew around them as the bricks began to shift. The wall grumbled as bricks rotated and slid around one another, opening a large archway to a quaint cobble-stoned road. Ruby looked behind her, back at the London street across from the pub. Cars drove past and pedestrians rushed by. Nobody looked twice down the alley. Nobody noticed that the weird blonde lady opened a portal to somewhere.

"They can't see," said Luna in her airy voice. Ruby turned back to see everyone was waiting for her to cross into Diagon Alley. "There's a magical charm, they don't notice us at all." Sure. Magical don't-look-at-me charm. Ruby walked through the newly created portal into the magical land that she can't believe she's believing is real. The bricks shifted behind her, closing Ruby off from anything familiar. Luna led them onwards.

"This is Diagon Alley," Luna said. "It's one of the most popular wizarding districts in London."

Ruby's hand instinctively went or her phone. She still had three bars. She texted Sunny the emoji of a witch's hat. Luna kept talking but Ruby couldn't focus enough to listen. There were people everywhere; witches and wizards, some in cloaks, some in pointy hats. Storefronts with impossible products in the windows. A young witch zipped by them on a broom, swerving in between passers by causing another pedestrian to spill his drink on himself.

"Watch where you're going!" he called out. "Or fly higher!" He wiped his cloak indignantly.

Ruby's phone buzzed. Sunny sent her a pumpkin emoji. And with that tiny pumpkin Ruby felt a layer of anxiety melt away. This was real. It was _unreal_ but it was real. She was in an entirely unfamiliar _magical_ part of London but she still had a lifeline to her real world. She suddenly felt safer.

The group of them were moving slowly, taking it all in. Tish skipped over to a storefront window and pressed her nose against the glass. It was a broom shop. Brooms being vehicles here. Ruby wondered if they swept with brooms as well, and if the brooms they swept with and the brooms they rode were inherently different.

"That one is so preeetttyyyy," Tish said, fogging up the glass a little. She pointed to a broom ornately decorated at the handle with bright colourful feathers intermingled with the broom's bristles. It was artful craftsmanship. A sign propped up next to the broom read "250 galleons." Tish let out a long drawn out breath. "Dunno what a galleon is but 250 is a big number," she said.

Ruby nodded. It _was_ a big number, but rupees seem like big numbers until you do the conversion.

"Where is our first stop, miss?" Stanford asked. He was enthralled by a store that specialized in potions.

"The bank," said Luna. "Not too far from here! You may have noticed we don't use British money, but you can exchange your muggle money once we get to Gringotts!"

Gringotts Bank was a beautiful marblesque structure with crooked pillars out front and the name _GRINGOTTS BANK_ engraved across the front. The entrance hallway was dimly lit and echoed as they walked. Sitting at a row of desks were the most hideous bank tellers Ruby has ever seen. Every single one of them, a goblin. The teller at the end had a sign up that said _"_ FOREIGN EXCHANGE." Luna led her tour into his queue.

"They're really quite harmless," Luna whispered to Ruby. She was startled by Luna's insight, or perhaps she was very visibly uncomfortable. Either was a viable option. "They can be stern, but if you go about your business you'll have no problems."

"Ah, so just like muggle banks," Ruby said. She can't believe she said that. _Muggle_. It felt strange on her tongue, like she was talking gibberish, but Luna gave a light chuckle.

The tour group had their muggle money converted into galleons, sickles, knuts. Ruby ran her fingertips over the embossed wizard on the sickle. It had a dragon on the reverse side. She waited for her tour-mates to meet her back in the entrance lobby. There's no way she was standing there letting those goblins scrutinize her.

"Does anyone fancy lunch?" Luna said, arriving in the lobby with Eloise who was last in the queue. A few nods came from the group. "Wonderful! I can't wait to show you the Leaky Cauldron!" She led the way skipping towards a storefront with a pub sign depicting a witch stirring a cauldron, trailing behind her five Lost Children who are starting to believe in magic.


End file.
